If you or someone you love, have had an "out of the blue" cancer diagnosis that changed everything, keep reading. 

Millions of people are impacted by cancer, whether fighting it themselves or coming alongside a loved one who has been diagnosed.

But how many people consider cancer to be a gift? 

Greg Murtha was a 46 year old husband, father and business leader in peak physical condition when an "out of the blue" diagnosis struck. At the time, Greg said...

"From the outside looking in, I had it made. As the Chief Connections Officer at the Halftime Institute, I recruited high-profile people from around the world for an organization I cofounded with Bob Buford, whose groundbreaking book Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance inspired many to make that move. My beautiful wife, Tracey, and I lived in upscale Brentwood, Tennessee, with our young son, Jackson.

Before moving to Brentwood, we were founding members of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, where we spearheaded the follow-up ministry
and led two small groups. An immigrant family of four from Zimbabwe, Africa, lived with us. Neighbors viewed us as wonderful humanitarians. Church friends enjoyed doing life with us."

Greg loved to run in the picturesque Crocket Hills Trail in Middle Tennessee. But one chilly December morning, after an 11 mile run, everything changed. A short time later Greg and his wife, Tracey, heard 5 words that turned their world completely upside down...

“Mr. Murtha, you have cancer.”

"Tears started streaming down my face. While I wasn’t sure what the future held, I was certain nothing would ever be the same. Out of the blue, my well-planned life had been radically interrupted."

From that moment, Greg began a five year journey through cancer. From developing what he called a "cancer battle plan" to having 2 heart attacks, multiple surgeries, 75 rounds of chemo (an unofficial Guinness Book of World Records milestone) and a myriad of other incredibly difficult experiences, Greg endured it all with... peace in his heart.

Peace that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

"Strange as it sounds, I view cancer as a gift. I thank God for it because it means I’m not the man I used to be. Sure, this interruption to my well-planned life was jarring. And chemo is hell. But I’m thankful for cancer because it has given me the ability to focus on what matters.

God radically changed my plans, but the worst diagnosis is the best thing
that ever happened to me because it changed my heart."

Greg began to write Out of the Blue during his 4th year of battling cancer. Writing a book was never on his to-do list but he felt promted by God - even as a man with a weak heart and Stage IV cancer - to write it.

Greg wrote Out of the Blue to help others learn to embrace interruption - any interruption - as an adventure, rather than as adversity.

"Out-of-the-blue interruption has taught me when I focus on what God leads
me to do, I get to play a pivotal role in the ultimate story - His story - and that’s where I’ve found life. That’s where the adventure begins."

Greg challenges anyone who reads Out of the Blue to...

• Celebrate every day you have on earth
• View interruptions as opportunities to play a role in God’s ultimate story
• And do what God prompts you to do

Whether you have cancer, know someone with cancer or are touched by any other life altering illness, read Out of the Blue. It will inspire, encourage and fill you and your loved ones with great hope.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow!’

- Hunter S. Thompson